Newburgh volunteers honor King's legacy

CITY OF NEWBURGH — Tanice Fisher had a house full of people on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

BY DOYLE MURPHY

CITY OF NEWBURGH — Tanice Fisher had a house full of people on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Habitat for Humanity volunteers arrived before 8 a.m. and spent the morning working alongside Fisher to insulate her new home on East Parmenter Street in Newburgh.

"It's nice to see so many people of so many backgrounds working together," Fisher said.

Monday marked the second consecutive year Habitat's Newburgh chapter coordinated a day of service in honor of King.

Five crews of more than a dozen people each unrolled, cut and stapled pink strips of insulation in five of the organization's under-construction houses on East Parmenter.

So many people wanted to help, Habitat had an early sign-up and capped the limit at 75 volunteers.

Donna Hess of Poughkeepsie and Beatrice Cooper of Milton had the day off from their medical-assistant classes at Orange-Ulster BOCES.

They're required to do community service as part of the program, so instead of sleeping in on Monday, they headed for Newburgh. The opportunity to honor King's legacy was a bonus, they said.

"He made me appreciate it more," Cooper said.

Fisher is eager to move in. She took her three daughters, ages 10-14, on a tour recently and enjoyed listening to them chatter about what colors they'd paint their new rooms.

"They're excited," she said. "I'm excited."

The houses along East Parmenter are among 24 homes planned for the one-block street west of Washington's Headquarters. The neighborhood had once featured a dangerous stretch of empty lots and fire-charred ruins. The addition of 14 houses so far, and more to come, has completely changed that.

Cathy Collins, executive director of the Newburgh Habitat chapter, said building houses for families in need aligned with King's nonviolent approach to social change.

"It's a perfect fit on the practical and the philosophical end," she said.

Bill Prehoda of Washingtonville used a floating work holiday to spend the morning on East Parmenter.

"I've never done anything on Martin Luther King Day," Prehoda said. "So this is the first time I've done anything for it."

He knew he'd made a good decision shortly after arriving. He worked alongside other volunteers, rolling, cutting and stapling the insulation to help build someone a new home.